The Brahmin and the Tiger's Bangle

Also known as Brahman aur Sone Ka Kangan

3 minute read
Ages 7-11
Panchatantra Stories

An old tiger stood at the edge of a lake at midday holding a gold bangle in his paw.

A traveller came along the far side of the water, and the tiger called across to him.

"Traveller! I have a gold bangle here. Would you like it?"

The traveller stopped.

The offer

"Why would you give me gold?"

"Because I am old," said the tiger. "I have no teeth left and no claws to speak of. My family are dead. In my youth I did a great deal of harm and I have spent my old age trying to make up for it. A holy man told me to give away what I had. I have this. I would rather it went to a traveller than lay in the mud."

The traveller looked at him across the water.

Everything in him said no. He knew what a tiger was. He had been told since childhood what a tiger was.

But he could see the bangle from where he stood, and it was real gold, and the tiger genuinely did look extremely old, and it was a long way round the lake and the tiger had made no move at all.

"Bathe first," the tiger called. "The lake is shallow here. Wash the road off you and come and take it."

Into the water

The traveller went into the lake.

And four steps in, the ground under him stopped being sand and became deep mud, and his feet went into it and would not come out, and he was stuck fast in the middle with the water at his chest.

He was still pulling when the tiger came into the water towards him.

It came slowly, because it really was old, and it took a long time to reach him, which was the worst part.

"You should have listened to yourself," said the tiger. "You knew what I was. You said so. And then you looked at the bangle again."

Afterwards

The Panchatantra sets this story down without softening it, and then makes its point in one line, which is not about tigers.

The traveller was not stupid. He was not greedy in the ordinary way. He asked exactly the right question at the start, and he got a beautiful answer, and he believed the answer because he wanted the bangle.

That is the thing the story is warning about. Not the tiger. The wanting.

Moral of the story

The traveller asked the right question and then accepted the answer he wanted. Being suspicious is no protection if you can be talked out of it.

Questions and answers

What was the tiger holding?
A gold bangle, which he offered to a traveller across the lake.
What story did the tiger tell?
That he was old and toothless, his family were dead, and a holy man had told him to give away what he had as penance for the harm he had done.
What did the traveller ask first?
Why a tiger would give him gold, which was exactly the right question.
Why did he go into the water anyway?
He could see that the bangle was real, the tiger did look very old, and he wanted it enough to believe the answer he was given.
What is the story warning about?
Not the tiger, but wanting something so much that you talk yourself out of what you already know.

Word meanings

bangle: A stiff bracelet worn on the wrist.
penance: Something done to make up for having done wrong.
suspicious: Feeling that something is not right.
softening: Making something less harsh or unpleasant.

Questions about The Brahmin and the Tiger's Bangle

What is the moral of The Brahmin and the Tiger's Bangle?

That suspicion is no protection if you can be argued out of it. The traveller knew the danger, asked about it, and accepted a good answer because he wanted to.

Is the traveller foolish?

The story goes out of its way to say he is not. He reasons correctly at every step except the last one, which is what makes the tale uncomfortable.

Is this story suitable for children?

Ages seven and above. The ending is stated without description, and the discussion afterwards is the reason the story is taught.

Which book of the Panchatantra is this from?

The third book, Kakolukiyam, which deals with enemies and with the traps they set.